I think it's mostly to get the name in front of the public. Remember that most computer users have either never heard of Linux or have heard hardly anything, and what they have heard is probably along the lines of "strictly for geeks, hardly any software, lots of hardware doesn't work with it." It's good for people to see that there are real live Linux users who aren't afraid to go public about it. Some of these people may even ask the "Registered User" some questions about Linux.--GrannyGeek

Please, Ms. GrannyGeek, may I ask you, if you could sum up what it is you like about Linux? (btw, I recently installed 5.8 and noticed your name among many others scroll by

I like the choice that Linux offers users. I'm a big fan of XFce and don't have any desire to use a different desktop, but who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind in the years ahead. I like knowing I have many choices for desktops. Choice goes way beyond desktops. I like being able to build a system that can be lean or very rich.

I enjoy watching the development of Linux and programs for Linux. We've made amazing advances through the years. The fact that a lot of this work is done by unpaid volunteers is remarkable and demonstrates that there are many people who are motivated by a desire to do good more than by greed.

I like the challenge of dealing with Linux. Although most things are easy these days, once in a while Linux will throw us a curve. Solving the problem is good for keeping our brain cells alive, and at my age, it's important to keep on learning things and solving problems--use it or lose it.

There are many more things I like about Linux, but I doubt people want to spend the time it would take to read my list.<g> I should add that I've been using Linux for a long time. I may have started in 1999 or so--I no longer remember. At that time, my relationship with Linux was love/hate. Linux was a lot harder to use in those days, the programs were painfully underdeveloped, and hardware support had big gaps. Also, at the time I had a collection of old, underpowered computers in addition to one computer that was decent for the time. I made the mistake of running Linux on the crappy computer(s). It's a lot more fun to run Linux on your best computer! I would get frustrated with Linux and remove it, but somehow I always came back--like a moth to a flame. I consider VectorLinux 4.2 to be the version where Linux got really good. I've been with it ever since.

I do use Windows but considerably less than Linux. Dislike for Windows doesn't figure into my liking for Linux at all. I've never had problems with Windows, and I've been using it since Windows 3.0. I've been online for 15 years and have never been affected and afflicted by malware. I've never had to reinstall Windows because it got messed up beyond saving or slowed down compared with when it was installed. But Linux is just so much more *fun* than Windows! And the great Vector community has a lot to do with that.--GrannyGeek

I left out one of my favorite things about Linux. I love the separation of root and users and how users can't mess up the system as long as they're running from their user account and not as root.

When my grandchildren come over and want to use the computer, I just log in to the visitor account I have on all my Linux computers and then the grandchildren can do their thing with Firefox and I don't have to worry that they might click on something that infects the system with something nasty, or might delete something important or do something else that messes up the system. If they did manage to make a mess of things, it would be just the visitor directory, which I could delete and remake. I would *never* want to give them free rein on a Windows machine.

While I trust myself to use Windows safely, I don't trust other people, especially kids. I have a cyber friend who makes an image file of his Windows system before his nieces and nephews come over and then restores the image after they leave. It's a lot easier for me to simply log the grandchildren into the visitor account!--GrannyGeek

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Granny Geek. Yes - and as you might guess from my userID, I've had my share of Windows. Actually, I owe it a whole career! You've mentioned many of the things that are good about Linux. Tinkering with it, down in levels that would be impossible in Windows (unless you worked at MS, and had high-level access), make for interesting paths to explore.

> Linsux

Epic, this comment, your sub-title, and the number of posts you've done here seem to imply you've got a love-hate relationship with Linux? Man, do I appreciate that ! ... there were weeks on end with Windows where I was about ready to jump out of one, only to get a nice bonus because our project didn't explode!

Epic, this comment, your sub-title, and the number of posts you've done here seem to imply you've got a love-hate relationship with Linux? Man, do I appreciate that ! ... there were weeks on end with Windows where I was about ready to jump out of one, only to get a nice bonus because our project didn't explode!

cheers,Howard

Nope, Linux, or more properly Vector Linux, since Linux is really only an OS kernel, is the best out of all operating systems I have used. But I believe that everything sucks.